RAJSHAHI, Sept 14, 2019 (BSS)- More than 10,000 poor and marginalized
women have driven out their poverty and hunger through rearing of poultry
birds specially chicken in the region including its vast Barind tract.
At present, the birds rearing is being adjudged as an effective means of
boosting the level of confidence of the grassroots women through making them
self-reliant, said Abdul Matin, Chairman of Panchandar Union Parishad, under
Tanore Upazila.
He said chicken rearing enterprise needs low investment cost and all the
family members can support to rear the birds easily. After the best uses of
these opportunities, the beneficiary women are gradually expanding the
farming.
Matin said various government and non-government entities concerned are
working for improving living and livelihood condition of the village-level
women through various income-generation activities including chicken rearing.
He said the community-level poultry farming has been playing pivotal role
towards meeting up the protein demands side by side with elevating socio-
economic condition.
Monwara Khatun, 43, wife of Farid Ali, who is a rickshaw-puller, is now at
the threshold of eradicating her long-lasting poverty through household-based
chicken rearing through modern method.
Khatun, mother of two daughters and a son and a resident of Maligachha
village under Godagari Upazila of the district, embarked on the mission of
achieving self reliance early 2015.
At the preliminary stage, she received training on chicken rearing along
with its proper feeding, vaccination and marketing by a group of Local
Service Providers LSPs).
In the current year, she earned Taka 2,500 after selling eggs and chicken.
She told BSS that both demand and market price of native chicken variety is
higher than that of others.
After becoming a part of her 25-member local cooperative society, Monwara
enjoys some extra privileges of poultry rearing and marketing.
Like her, many other households of the poverty- stricken community are
involved in the poultry rearing activities.
Murad Hossain, local community leader, said all the organized members are
very much optimistic about improving their living and livelihood condition
through the poultry rearing value chain.
The households have acquired knowledge on how to promote the community
business after the best uses of the local resources and services.
The LSPs have good collaboration and linkage with line departments and
private companies as they establish functional linkage with product based
traders, pickers and private companies.
Deputy Director of Department of Livestock Services Kolyan Kumar Fouzder
told BSS that many of the rural households have now become involved in
chicken rearing commercially through various GO-NGO level interventions which
is a good sign for eradicating rural poverty.
Various public institutions and agencies provide extension services to the
LSPs, who earn on an average Taka 1500 per month.
In practice, they disseminate different modern technology to the producers
through arranging community meeting within the working households.